Manhole tent



United States Patent [72] Inventor Thurman A. Pelsue FOREIGN PATENTS3706 Hibiscus Way, Denver, Colorado 1,223,916 6/1960 France 135/5 80237587,732 6/1959 Italy 135/5 [21] Appl. No. 702,338 [22,] Filed 1 1968Irrmary Exammer Jacob L. Nackenoff [45] patented 5 0 An0rneyAnderson,Spangler and Wymore [54] MAN-HOLE TEN-T ABSTRACT: This invention relatesto a tent for covering open 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

manholes that mcludes a foldable spring metal frame having U-S- fourarms intergonnected at one end to a common in [ype 135/1 fastener andwith the free ends thereof provided with plugs [liltadapted to telescopedown inside the openqopped tubular Field ofSearch uprights of a manholeguardraiL when so connected, the

N1 spring metal arms cooperate to define a pair of diagonallydisposedintersecting arches adapted to support a similarly- [56] References cuedshaped canvas or plastic canopy. The canopy has sidewalls ex- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS tending down alongside the guardrail which can be rolledup 1,882,150 10/1932 Kent 94/38 to provide ventilation and at least oneof which preferably in- 1,897,382 2/1933 135/1 cludes a window. With theguardrail fastened to a manhole 2,159,273 5/1939 Ki1linger.. 135/1shield ofthe type detachably secured inside an open manhole, 2,314,8303/1943 Hunter.... 135/1 the entire installation is essentially wind andweather proof 3,052,249 9/1962 Seaman 135/1 due to its being positivelyanchored.

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i INVENTOR. THURMAN A. PELSUE ATTORNEYS MANHOLE TENT In a copendingapplication I disclose a three-sided foldable manhole guardrail which isspecially designed to attach to my manhole shield (US. Pat. No.3,249,000) and provides a contiguous ground-anchored assembly. Underadverse weather conditions, it frequently becomes necessary to cover theopen manhole for the purpose of keeping the personnel operatingunderground warm and dry, as well as preventing damage to the electricalcables and other equipment that are housed therein. Some sort oftent-like structure affords the most practical means of insuring properlight and ventilation while, at the same time, permitting ready ingressand egress.

The ordinary manhole guardrail is merely placed in freestanding positionon the pavement surrounding the manhole and draped with canvas sideflapsplus a cover for weather protection. These flaps present a large surfacearea to the wind and a free-standing guardrail can easily blow down orbe moved aside under the influence of even a moderate wind.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instantinvention that a much more effective groundanchored tent can be providedby merely mounting the manhole shield within the flange bordering themanhole, fastening the guardrail to the shield, erecting a pair ofdiametricallydisposed intersecting spring steel arches atop theguardrail uprights, and covering the latter with a correspondinglyshapedcanopy containing a window and elevatable sideflaps. The resulting tentstructure is essentially wind and weather proof, offers littleinconvenience to personnel, and it can be folded into a small, neatpackage for stowage aboard a service truck or utility trailer.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved manhole tent.

A second object is to provide a device of the type aforementioned whichconstitutes an accessory completely compatible with my manhole guardrailand manhole shield previously mentioned.

Another objective is the provision of a foldable spring metal framedeformable into a pair of intersecting arches to support a canopy whenattached to suitable tubular uprights.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a foldable manholecanopy having elevatable sidepanels and at least one window.

An additional objective is the provision of a novel assembly forcovering a manhole that includes a manhole shield, guardrail, archedspring frame and canopy.

A further object is the provision of a tent-type manhole cover that islightweight, rugged, versatile, essentially wind and weather proof,compact, easy to erect, inexpensive and even decorative in appearance.

' Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outspecifically hereinafter in connection with the description of thedrawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking down and to the right upon themanhole tent frame including the shield, guardrail and spring metalbows, the canopy having been removed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the spring metal bows and the upperextremities of the guardrail uprights, one of the latter having beenbroken away and shown in section to better reveal the telescopiccoupling therebetween;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bows prior to their being bent intoarched form, portions thereof having been broken away to conserve space;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the bows in collapsed or folded condition;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing the plug on the end ofeach spring metal bow, portions thereof having been broken away andshown in section;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but to a reduced scale,showing the entire assembly with the canopy in place as it would appearlooking down and to the right thereon; and

FIG. 7 is a vertical section through the canopy alone showing onesideflap rolled up and tied while the opposite sideflap is down.

Referring now to the drawings for a detailed description of the presentinvention and, initially, to FIGS. 1 and 6 for this purpose, referencenumeral 10 has been employed to broadly designate my patented manholeshield referred to previously which, as the detailed description in mypatent will reveal, comprises a metal ring 12 having an external flange14 atop thereof. A section of reduced diameter 16 on the lower margin ofthe ring 12 is inwardly offset to define a shoulder 18 upon which theshield rests atop the pavement while said section of reduced diameter 16extends down into the open manhole 20. An external annular flange (notshown) cooperates with shoulder. 18 red fin an9utwatqlxiasinaarq t re ee in inflatable gasket (also not shown) which seals the unit inside themanhole. Thus, shield 10 is firmly mounted inside the manhole so astoforrna rigid base upon which to anchor the remaining elements of theassembly: I 4' i Releasably secured to the projecting outer cylindricalsurface of ring 12 is the manhole guardrail that has been designated ina general way by reference numeral 22 and which forms the subject matterof my copending application. A more comprehensive description of theguardrail may be found in US. Pat. No. 3,444,793 which issued on theaforesaid application subsequent to the filing of the instant one;however, for present purposes, a more general description will suffice.

Guardrail 22 includes four tubular legs or uprights 24 arranged inspaced parallel relation to one another and located at the corners of asquare pattern enveloping shield 10. The rear uprights 24 are showninterconnected by a series of three horizontal cross bars 26 havingsleeves 28 at the opposite extremities thereof adapted to telescope downover said uprights and permit relative rotation of the latter therein.The sleeves 28 on the middle and upper cross bars are prevented fromsliding down by welded collars 30 while the lower cross bar is similarlyretained by a welded sleeve 32. Other welded sleeves 34 fastenedpermanently to the rear uprights above the sleeves 28 of the middle andupper cross bars 26 fasten onto the rear ends of bars 36 that extendforwardly therefrom to the front uprights. Thus, the right and'left sidesections or wings that have been broadly designated by referencenumerals 38R and 38L, respectively, can be folded in upon the rearsection.

At the base of the wings 38R and 38L inwardly-extendingsubstantially-radial struts 40 connect onto the opposite extremities ofan arcuate element 42 shaped to conform with the exterior cylindricalsurface of ring 12 as shown. The resulting brackets formed by elements40 and 42 are releasably held in contact with the ring by an elasticconnector 44 stretched across the front of the guardrail between thefront uprights. This combination has already been shown and fullydescribed in my copending application on the guardrail.

The roof-supporting frame, on the other hand, comprises a new element inthe assembly and reference will be made to FIGS. l5, inclusive, for adescription thereof, said frame having been designated broadly byreference numeral 46. It will be seen to comprise four identical springmetal bows48 pivotally interconnected at one extremity by a pin 50 andhaving plugs 52 attached to other ends thereof adapted to telescope downinto the tubular uprights of the guardrail. These plugs 52 each have anintegrally-formed annular flange 54 projecting from the body thereofthat constitutes a stop adapted to limit the extent to which said plugcan drop down into the upright. The portion 56 above the stop-formingflange contains a transverse slot 58 adapted to receive theend of thespring metal how, the latter being fastened therein by means of afastener 60 that passes through an opening'62 intersecting said slot. Anaperture 64 is, of course, provided-in the end of the bow to receive thefastener.

Now, when the plugs are inserted into the top ends of the tubularuprights, the bows cooperate as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to define a pairof semi-circular arches extending diametrically therebetween and whichintersect one another at right angles. The roof-supporting frame thusformed supports the canopy which has been referred to broadly byreference numeral 66 and which will be described presently in connectionwith FIGS. 6 and 7. When not in use, the frame is detached from theguardrail, allowed to resume its original straight position (see FIGS. 2and 3), and folded into the compact form illustrated in FIG. 4 forstowage aboard a service truck or the like.

Finally, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the canopy 66 will be seen toinclude essentially rectangular sidepanels 68 and 70, a similarly-shapedrear wall 72, and a front wall 74 having a pair of overlapping flaps 76and 78 releasably secured together by snap fasteners 80. These side,front and rear panels are substantially the same width and height asthat of the corresponding faces of guardrail 22. The roof-formingportions of the canopy actually comprise continuations of the front andrear panels; however, as seen most clearly in FIG. 7, the roof-formingelements of the side panels comprise plastic windows 82. These windows,along with the corresponding portions 84 of the front and rear panels,comprises generally cylindrical surfaces whose side margins intersectone another in circular arcs 86 corresponding to the shape of the bows48.

The seams 88 joining the sidepanels to the front and rear panels areslit part way up to release flaps 90 which can be rolled up as securedby ties 92. With the flaps rolled up and tied, good ventilation isprovided for while, at the same time,

insuring adequate weather protection. Removal of the canopy from theframe is, of course, accomplished by opening the snap fasteners onthefront wall.

Having thus described the several useful and novel features of theinstant manhole tent, it will be apparent that the many worthwhileobjectives for which it was developed have been achieved. Although but asingle embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, Irealize that certain changes and modifications therein may well occur tothose skilled in the art within the broad teaching herein; hence, it ismy intention that the scope of protection afforded hereby shall belimited only insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in theappended claims.

lclaim:

1. In combination in a tent for covering open manholes and the like: aring having means located on the lower edge thereof adapted toreleasably fasten same inside a manhole; a guardrail comprising fourground-supported tubular uprights disposed in spaced substantiallyparallel relation in a generally rectangular pattern adapted to bepositioned around an open manhole, a plurality of substantiallyhorizontal cross frame members connected between the uprights so as toform a fence enclosing said manhole on both sides and the rear whileleaving the front open, bracket means depending from the sides of thefence thus formed positioned to engage the ring,

and a removable barrier connected between the uprights on the front ofsaid fence adapted to hold the bracket means against the ring; aroof-supporting frame comprising at least two spring metal bandsdeformable into a pair of intersecting semi-circular arches of a lengthadapted to extend diagonally between the upper ends of the guardrailuprights, and cylindrical plugs attached to the extremities of each ofthe two arches sized to telescope into the open upper ends of saidtubular guardrail uprights; and, a foldable canopy shaped to conformwith and fit down over the supporting structure that includes theguardrail and roof-supporting frame as a tent-like covering therefor,the portion of said canopy covering said open fourth side of theguardrail being slit vertically to separate same into openable flapsthat define an entry way.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the roof-supportingframe comprises four bendable flat spring metal bands of substantiallyequal length having the plugs attached to one extremity thereof andtheir opposite extremities pivotally interconnected so as to provide afoldable subassembly.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the canopy includesat least one transparent flexible windowforming area.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: stopforming meansproject from the cylindrical surface of the plugs in position to limitthe extent to which the latter can telescope into the tubular uprights.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which: the canopy has fourvertically-disposed essentially planar faces corresponding to the sidesof the guardrail and a roof-forming portion comprising four cylindricalsurfaces that intersect in essentially circular arcs corresponding tothe arches formed by the elements of the roof-supporting frame.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which the bracket meanscomprises a pair of arcuate brackets projecting inwardly from the sidesof the fence, and the removable barrier comprises an elastic memberstretched across the front of the fence so as to pull the sides thereoftoward one another and bias the brackets into contact with the ring.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which: at least one ofsaid cylindrical roof-forming surfaces is transparent.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which: the verticalmargins bordering at least one of the planar faces are slit from thebottom up to free a flap, and fastening means are carried by said planarface positioned and adapted to secure said flap when elevated to providea ventilating opening.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 in which: the flap isrollable, and the fastening means comprises ties fastened on both theinside and outside surfaces of the planar surface adjacent the flap whenrolled up.

